Practical Vampire
by kappykuo
Summary: Bella Swan, after being caught in a nuclear explosion in her hometown, Phoenix, is diagnosed with partial albinism. Forced to live with her dad in the cloudy, rainy 'sanctuary' of Forks, she meets the Cullens. She thinks they're just like her, but no...
1. Prologue Diagnosed

"Ms. Swan, can you hear me?"

I groaned, both sounds sending streaks of pain across my head. "_Loud_ and clear." I muttered through my gritted teeth.

"Sorry. I thought you might have a headache. You had a pretty nasty hospital visit."

Hospital? I was in the _hospital_? Well, that wasn't really a surprise for me. It was always a concussion, or broken bone, but this was _no broken bone_. "What happened?" I asked.

There was some whispering from multiple people, but my eyelids felt to heavy for me to lift and find out who was in the room.

"There was a nuclear explosion, and you were in the blast zone." The voice said. "It was a miracle you survived. It's practically unheard of for someone so young to be able to come out… partially unscathed."

I waited for the words to connect in my head. "Partially?"

"Um… yes. The radioactivity affected your body." The doctor said. "How familiar are you with albinism?"

_Albinism_? I heard a beeping sound getting quicker around me, apparently the heart monitor. My heart felt like it was beating its way up my throat.

"Ms. Swan, calm down!"

"I'm white now?" I asked quietly in horror. I'd never been one for caring what other people thought about me, or one for attention, but this was bound to draw both.

"Partially. You have two-thirds albinism. It only affected your skin and eyes." The doctor amended. "Speaking of which, your skin is now highly susceptible to skin cancer by sunlight. You're not going to be bound to avoiding the sun at all costs, but you should avoid it whenever possible to dodge the risk of severe cancer.

"Your eye color will vary. The lack of melanin in your iris will make them appear red, due to the blood vessels being the only color in your eye. But, a few melanin cells are still there, and will reproduce through mitosis, and your irises will get a darker red and eventually turn black in a six month cycle before dying off from the lack of nutrients in your eye, and will repeat the process over and over again.

"Also, the radioactivity disintegrated a lot of nutrients in your body. It may result in stunting any growth you still have."

"I'm going to be 17 forever?" I asked tentatively. This day was not going very well.

"I'm afraid, yes."

Shit.

**A/N: Just a story prompt I really want to continue.**

** And, all of this—the partial albinism, stunted growth, and color changing eyes—can happen to a human being. I just thought it would be interesting if Edward thought Bella was a vampire.**

** To my new prompt!  
**


	2. Warm Welcome

**EPOV**

"Alice!" I heard Jasper exclaim from downstairs. I quickly went into my sister's mind to see her most recent vision.

_A police cruiser pulled up into a driveway I recognized as Chief Swan's. Chief Swan got out of the driver's seat and headed for the trunk, and out of the passenger's seat came a beautiful girl. She was in her mid-teens, maybe 17, and had white-pale skin, plump lips, long, flowing brown hair, and… red eyes…_

Usually Alice just had random visions about all kinds of stuff, but this… this alarmed me. A _vampire_ was staying with the police chief, let alone a _human-drinker_. This could only spell trouble, since it was obvious this vampire was here to stay…

Before I even knew what I was doing, I was abandoning my piano and bolting down the stairs to the living room, where Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, and Jasper were all crowding around Alice, who sat silent as a stone. Her eyes were still clouded over, telling me there was more to the vision than I had previously thought.

"_So, Bells, make yourself comfortable." Chief Swan said awkwardly, coming into the house. "Take your medications. I'll order some pizza."_

"_Dad, I can't have pizza." 'Bells' reminded Chief Swan in the most beautiful voice I'd ever heard. Of course she couldn't—vampires don't eat. "Maybe just some pasta salad. I can make it."_

"_Okay…" Chief Swan said, trailing off. "But take your medications."_

"_I will, Dad."_

Dad?

_The vision followed 'Bells' upstairs to the bathroom, where she took out a bottle and pipette from her purse. She unscrewed the bottle and squeezed the pipette, revealing the dark red color of the liquid. Blood._

_Carefully, she dropped some on her tongue and swallowed. She looked into the mirror, revealing the brighter red her eyes were now…_

Alice and I gasped in unison at the end of the vision. A _vampire_ was posing as the police chief's _daughter_, sustaining herself on so-called '_medication_' that happened to be _blood!_

"This is bad." Alice said, her eyes darting to mine. I only nodded in response.

"What's bad?" Jasper asked in hysteria, he always hated it when Alice and I had silent conversations. Thankfully more out of annoyance than jealousy, thankfully.

"A vampire just moved in with the chief of police." I said. "That vampire had red eyes."

Esme gasped while Jasper and Emmett growled menacingly. Rosalie just rolled her eyes. "Let's just get it over with."

"Rosalie, we can't just kill her. She calls Chief Swan her _DAD_. Any violent action could not only get us arrested but reveal us, too."

"Call Carlisle." Rosalie shot back.

"Call me about what?" Carlisle asked, coming in the front door. Esme stood up to embrace him.

"Alice just had a vision about a human-drinker vampire moving in with Chief Swan." Jasper said.

Carlisle's eyebrows furrowed. He was trying to make of the situation. "How? Why?"

"We don't know."

"Alice, is Charlie at the house?" Carlisle asked, sitting down on the loveseat with Esme.

Alice's eyes clouded over for a second. "No, but the vampire is." She giggled. I tried looking into her mind, but Alice had blocked my power. I mentally gulped: that could only mean something embarrassing or cruel happening to me or Emmett. "I nominate Edward to go and invite her over."

Scratch that: just me.

"I second that vote." Rosalie chirped. Alice smiled at her support.

"Me too." Emmett agreed with a devious smile that made him look like a big, boy version of Alice. The evil three looked expectantly at Carlisle, who just shrugged.

"If we're going to try to convert her," Carlisle mused, "we're going to need someone to know what to say."

I groaned at looked with pleading eyes to Esme and Jasper, both of which looked like they agreed with Carlisle.

"Carlisle, _you're _the leader of the coven." I countered.

"And you're my oldest son." Carlisle smiled. "Get out of the house, do something. Pick up some more music if you want."

I growled deep in my throat and trudged out of the house and to the garage, where I got in my Volvo and sped off. I was at 120 before I had even gotten to the freeway.

**BPOV**

Charlie had left twenty minutes ago for a shift at the station. I didn't really mind. I might look like a seventeen-year-old forever, but that doesn't mean I have to act like one. I was beyond my age in years: it's not like I would through a big 'welcome to Forks' party for myself. I'm going to have enough attention with the red eyes; I don't need anything else to be known for.

My room was just like I had left it a few summers ago—yellow, old, and small. The most up-to-date thing was my alarm clock, and even it was big and bulky.

I was unpacking when I heard a purring outside, and looked out my window just in time to see a shiny silver Volvo fishtail into a parallel park behind my truck. Stupid, rich car owners—think they can just do anything they want. Had Charlie been here, that driver would have gotten a ticket.

I groaned and went to put some stuff in the bathroom. That crazy driver was probably just doing something weird. I didn't even bother to see what.

So it surprised me when the doorbell rang.

"Waa!" I yelped, tripping over the doorframe and falling flat on my face. There was an abnormally quiet thump as I realized I was half off the stairs—and falling quickly. I practically rolled like a snowball down the stairs, each thump growing more and more painful.

"Oof!"

**EPOV**

I was glad I came. I don't care what bragging rights Alice gained in the last five minutes, but this was absolutely hilarious. I mean, what else am I supposed to do when I hear a vampire fall down the stairs? This has to be one for the history books.

"Oof!" I heard as one last thump struck my ears. I couldn't help myself then: my controlled chuckle burst into a laugh.

Someone opened the front door, which sent a blast of air at me. I took one sniff of the air to regain my breath and was immediately assaulted with the most delicious scent I'd ever smelled. It made my mouth water just thinking about it—though all my thoughts had flown out of my head the moment I sucked in a breath. Now, I was just chanting: _resist, resist, resist, resist_.

I immediately tensed for the attack before I caught sight of the person's blood red eyes that seemed to almost glow. A small part of me reminded me to keep from growling at them, since that would have done nothing to help convert them.

Holding my breath cleared my head some, though I did not relax. This vampire's power may be disguise, or a shield, since it smelled like a human and had a heartbeat (a weak, fake one at that).

It was a few seconds of staring down the large, doe-like red eyes before it spoke.

"Hello?" An angel's voice said quietly, as if she were out of breath. I instantly imagined she would be an amazing singer. I shook my head slightly, trying to stick to my 'mission'.

"Hello. I'm Edward Cullen." I stuck out my hand, not breaking the stare. A few moments and a hesitant look in the red eyes later, I felt a slight pressure of slightly warm, smooth skin against my hand, and it almost made me collapse from the effort of not squeezing it too tightly.

But there was another thing: she had a pulse. A weak one, but I could steadily feel the slight uprise of flesh under my fingertips, and it scared me. This vampire was abnormal, even for our kind.

"I'm Bella." The girl said. "Bella Swan." The eyes then looked down, and I followed their gaze down to her hand, which I still had grasped. I quickly snatched my hand away, muttering a quick 'sorry'.

"Welcome to Forks. Chief Swan has said much about you." I quickly said, though not vampire speed. I looked back up to her eyes, seeing only her scared reaction. "Are you alright?"

"Oh god…" She muttered, covering her face and eyes with her hands. "How much?"

I racked my brain for any snippets of information that might be about her, not getting very far. I hadn't been in town much over the summer, and it was very seldom that someone would come within my hearing range.

"Enough." I settled with. "Look, my father, Dr. Cullen, has been very interested in meeting you, and if now is a good time…"

"I'm sorry, maybe tomorrow. I still have to unpack a lot, and make dinner for Charlie, and…"

Charlie… so she didn't call him her dad publicly. Interesting.

"…I'm sort of jetlagged, so… maybe another time?" Her eyes were hopeful.

"Of course, how rude of me for expecting you to see him merely hours after arriving!" I apologized half-heartedly. "I assume you'll be attending Forks High next week?"

"Yeah." She answered simply. "Though maybe that'll be a bit postponed. I have some business to take care of in Seattle."

I just barely contained myself. Here, she was practically telling me of her plans to feed on humans, and she acted as though she didn't even know I was a vampire! Was her nose incompetent? Or was it the golden eye color that threw her off?

"Well, happy hunting." I said innocently, using my last wisp of air. There was a weird glint in her eye before they narrowed in a smile.

"Thanks. It was nice meeting you, thanks for the welcome!" She said, turning slightly to go back into the house. It wasn't until she had closed the door that I actually realized how beautiful she was.

I internally groaned when my phone went off with Alice's ring tone; of course she would be the first to call and make fun of me for that comment, and then hand the phone off to Emmett.

I trudged back to my car in a daze, and it wasn't until I had started the car that I answered.

**BPOV**

I collapsed on the couch, only vaguely hearing the purring of the Volvo engine outside. I couldn't help but sob tearlessly.

_Stupid radioactivity; taking away nutrients for tears_. I hated not producing tears—the one reassurance and cleansing way to just let it all out, and I couldn't!

But, what do I do? Less than a day in Forks—heck, even before I came here, depending on how much my dad blabbed—and _everyone_ probably knows about my accident! Albinism was just going to be another obstacle here, and that was something I did _not_ need. The explosion was just two weeks ago—I didn't want it to affect my life anytime soon.

But that obviously wasn't going to happen, now that a doctor knew. A _doctor_. And who else but his _gorgeous_ son, the most beautiful person I'd ever seen or imagined, to deliver the news!

My watch beeped, telling me it was once again time to take my medications, so I picked myself up and cautiously moved up the stairs, thankfully not tripping. I made it to the bathroom in one piece and grabbed the medication bottle, filling the pipette with ten drops of the iron-saturated liquid.

My heart, due to the radioactivity, was abnormally weak, and couldn't get enough oxygen to my red blood cells. The result? Me having to take this disgusting medicine that basically saturates my blood with iron. I'd have to take it once every hour until the end of the week (good thing I don't sleep much). At least when I start school, I'll only have to take it twice a day.

I swallowed the medicine, cringing slightly at the taste, and looked up to the mirror. My already bright red eyes pulsed a scary glowing red as the red blood cells flourished once again.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait—I got a request for this chapter, hope it didn't disappoint you!**

**Kylie**


	3. Planning

**BPOV**

I shook my head, trying to clear it from what just happened. My eyes and nose stung from even more unshed tears. I came here to start over. I came to live with Charlie to be a normal person. My contacts were even arriving tomorrow! This was going to be my better life!

But _no_. Not twelve hours after I arrive is there doctor wanting to analyze my condition. Not _twelve hours_.

I don't know how long I was sitting on the couch, but I was broke out of my self-pity by my watch beeping annoyingly. I clenched my fists in hatred of my albinism and stormed up to the bathroom, surprisingly not tripping on the last step as I normally did.

I got to the mirror and glared into my furiously crimson eyes. With my pale skin, I looked like a vampire right out of Bram Stoker's _Dracula_. I can't believe that Phil thought that was a good joke, to buy that for me to read on the plane. _Not helping my mood at all._

After a few moments of glowering at my reflection, I snatched the large bottle of red liquid from the counter with a ferocious snarl and gulped the entirety of its contents. I mean, I had more iron, some twenty gallons being imported from Phoenix courtesy of Renee in addition of the five I had to last me until next week when they would come. And, if I could just drink all of my iron at the beginning of the day, wouldn't that just save me from an annoying schedule. I mean, who was I going to make it through the school day, trying to be conspicuous, when I had to take my medicine in the middle of every class?

I finished off the iron-saturated liquid before throwing the empty glass container on the ground, covering the tile with millions of sparkling shards. Oops. I guess I would half to clean that up before Charlie got home from work.

I shrugged, deciding to leave it for later. Instead I went to the kitchen to make dinner.

I wrinkled my nose at the ever-so-subtle smell of rotting lettuce. The vegetable, while still looking innocent green, was obviously beginning to ferment. I looked at the clock, deciding that I didn't have enough time to run to the store, and just grabbed the rest of the salad makings. Hopefully with enough dressing, it would cover up the alcoholic taste and smell of the fermentation.

I shook my head to clear it from the sharp smell and opened up the window to get some clean air into the kitchen.

**EPOV**

I stormed into the house, not even bothering to properly park my car in the garage by the driveway. My only thoughts were of how Alice _must_ have known about this; about how she smelled better than anything and it took all my will power to not bite her, even though she was a vampire.

_Shit._ I heard Jasper and Alice think simultaneously in seeing me briefly by their window. I kicked the front door in, knowing I'd have Hell to pay later but not caring, and ran up the stairs, only to smash right into Jasper's punch.

"You are _not_ touching my wife." He hissed. I crouched predatorily.

"She must not have told you that she _knew_ how that vampire smelled!" I growled back just as fiercely. Jasper's mind automatically shifted to fighting with newborns and how to keep me away.

"She didn't see it until you were already there!"

"And you guys _didn't stop me?_" I said through gritted teeth and lunged, snarling viciously, at Alice, driven by pure, unresolved bloodlust.

Jasper met me in midair and clenched his venomous fangs into the skin around my left elbow when I tried to get a punch in. I hissed at the stinging sensation that grew to a magnitude only matched by my transformation.

"Boys, _STOP_." Carlisle rarely raised his voice, but when he did, we _listened_. Jasper let go of my arm and I pulled my hand back from around his neck. Alice immediately pulled Jasper up to their room with an unreadable look to me, though I could hear the understanding notions going through her head, telling me that she forgave me.

"Edward, up to my office, now, please." Carlisle used his 'coven leader' voice, that was stern and left no room for question.

I followed him up to his office and shut the door behind us. Carlisle immediately began pacing, a trait I think he had picked up from me when he was stressed. He almost never paced. The last time I saw him do it was when Rosalie came back after murdering her rapist ex-fiancé.

"So, I assume the meeting went bad?" He spoke quickly and quietly.

I nodded. "Her name is Bella. Though she claims to be Chief Swan's daughter, she calls him by his first name when he's not around. It's peculiar. Her eyes are red, though she seems completely in control of herself. Her heartbeat was weak and sounded fake, so I do not doubt her power must be a disguise, or shield of some sort." I paused. "But I couldn't read her thoughts."

"How red were her eyes?" Carlisle asked, slowing his pace some.

"Bright, like a newborn's. The 'medicine' Alice and I saw in her vision wasn't a large serving, hardly enough to satiate newborn thirst completely. She have a strong immunity to blood for a newborn, or be an older vampire who reacts strongly to a small amount."

_Edward, if we just convert her to animal blood… Give her the option… She may choose differently._

I sighed, collapsing into Carlisle's leather chair. "It's your call."

_Like father, like son._ He thought, dropping into the chair next to me. "We should confront her again. Maybe when she goes to Seattle—when she's not in her territory. If she's in an unfamiliar place, it might lower her resilience, and we'll have a better chance of converting her."

"We can't all go." I pointed out. "It may intimidate her too much."

"You and Jasper should go. You two more than anyone know what the change is like." Carlisle thought aloud.

I nearly snorted. "Bella may be a vampire, but her power must be disguise. You can tell she's a fake; her weak heartbeat and too-tantalizing smell, but it may be too much for Jasper to handle." _And I don't think I want him near me alone again._ I added mentally as I rubbed the still-burning bite mark near my elbow.

"How do you think the best way to approach this is, Edward?" Carlisle asked, like a father to a son, or a mentor to apprentice.

"We have to at least talk to her before she takes another human life." Immediately I was sucked into my thoughts. _Another human life…_ The ominous sound of the words reminded me of my dark ages, the years of lurking in the Chicago shadows, licking my lips in anticipation for each meal unfortunate enough to cross my path at night. I shivered, but that couldn't shake the indescribable guilt running through my veins at the dreadful number of lives that I had taken, the number of people who, though wouldn't be alive today, never got the chance to live.

"Edward?" Carlisle tapped my shoulder cautiously, trying to wake me from my trance-like state without touching me too much. He learned my behavior well in our years as father and son; that I would flinch away from physical contact.

"Sorry." I mumbled, going back to some lighter thoughts, like how to get through to Bella without putting our family, or the lives of humans, in danger. No doubt any confrontation in public would do both, if Bella were as wild as most nomads.

_He was thinking about the 1930s, I can tell from the look on his face._ Carlisle's thoughts were laced with pity and disappointment.

I shot Carlisle an apologetic look, but not in sorrow for spacing off. He wouldn't meet my gaze.

"If Jasper and I can intercept Bella on her way to Seattle, that'll put us in a good position—far enough away from civilization, but close enough to home if we need help, though I don't think she'll be hard to deal with if it comes to a fight." Upon seeing Carlisle's flinch at the thought of killing, I added, "But with Jasper there, we'll be completely fine. Nothing should go—"

"Edward!" I heard Alice, so forgiving that she understood the reason I tried to attack her and held no grudge against me (though she thinks that Jasper gave me enough of a punishment for over-reacting), call to me in a normal voice from her and Jasper's room. I could tell that she was slipping into another vision.

_A police car driving up to Chief Swan's house, with him getting out. He looked weirdly at the open window, but shrugged it off as nothing, though it was odd in the bitter cold afternoon air._

_He opened the front door to the sound of a vicious snarl from the kitchen, and a very frustrated Bella._

"Emmett, come on!" I yelled, bolting up from the chair and running off to the Chief's house. I slowed down impatiently to match Emmett's unbearably slow stride.

"What's the rush?" My brother asked irritated. I noticed his messy hair and crooked clothes, unwanted images and noises of frustration entering my head from Emmett's thoughts.

"Bella's going to attack Chief Swan when he comes home."

"Bella—the vampire?" A smile found its way onto Emmett's face. His thoughts turned to the upcoming fight, all frustration forgotten.

It was several slow minutes before we burst out of the woods.

_What's the plan?_ Emmett thought as we pressed ourselves against the back of the house. I could hear Bella humming inside, coughing every once in a while from the smell, cooking something.

I couldn't speak without risking Bella hearing me. I made a hand signal, and Emmett thought back to me to confirm.

_Stay here until we're needed?_

I nodded.

Not minutes later, I heard the uneven pounding of Chief Swan's old police car engine. Emmett and I exchanged looks, his of excitement and mine surely the opposite, and went on listening intently. I heard Bella's pitiful heartbeat grow faster and her hisses and snarls rise in volume.

A moment passed after Chief Swan turned his car off, building up the suspense, and then the front door opened with a click.

"Bell—"

_Snarl!_ I hear coming from the kitchen, and I sprang into action, Emmett right behind me.

**BPOV**

I hissed and snarled in animalistic tones, frustrated beyond belief at the stove, which repeatedly refused to turn on, the lettuce, which stunk like Hell, and the stupid, flimsy carrots that were so _rubbery_ they refused to be sliced! Ugh. This was _not_ what I needed right now!

Charlie was not helping. Knowing that he was coming home and I didn't have dinner started wasn't helping. Thinking there was something out in the backyard making all these rustling and twig-snapping noises was _definitely_ not helping.

I swear, one more word from anyone and I was going to go ballistic.

I was just about ready to slam down the knife when Charlie came in.

"Bell—"

I snarled, going ballistic.

See? What did I tell you?

But the next thing I knew I was out of the house, in the forest, and facing two white flashes among the jade green trees. A growl, not unlike the ones I was making in the kitchen, rang through the air. Scratch that—_two of them_.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait everybody! I know I hate it when an author promises or tells people they're going to update and don't. I hate the fact that I am one of those authors!**

**Excuse time?**

**My computer wouldn't let me upload. It hasn't in the past several weeks. This chapter has actually been done for two weeks. So, this afternoon, after a review asking me when to post, I sucked up the courage to ask my step-dad if I could use his computer. THANK PAUL!!! He actually let me use it!**

**Kylie M. (kappykuo)**


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